Archive for October, 2016

Imagine you were able to take a photograph every second of your life. From the moment you were born until right now. And we went to a park and laid out every photo in front of you as you continue to take pictures in real time, even now.

What we would see is every photo would be different in one way or another. BUT, will YOU, the ever present awareness that has been looking through the viewfinder upon the body’s birth and is still looking through it now as you read these words… has that one ever changed or not been there??

Sometimes at the West LA weekly Satsang, someone will express a deep sense of “fear of annihilation.” Meaning, when they hear the nondual teaching that the sense of being a separate, independent, autonomous self they have identified with their whole life doesn’t actually exist, and thus is not who/what they intrinsically are, it seems to trigger in them feelings of intense fear and existential angst.

However, what is being missed is this: What KNOWS that you are having this experience of fear regarding the concept “you” don’t exist? In other words, if I think “I am nothing,” what knows this??

This is where self-inquiry comes in. If I am not 100% clear on my true changeless nature, then by default I assume I can change.

So what appears to be happening (I say appears because it’s not really happening, just like a dream at night is not actually happening for real, but seems to be when we are experiencing it) is that I am identifying with the fear/dread that’s arising, and not NOTICING what is AWARE of this feeling of fear/dread. See the difference? The former is an object, the latter the Subject. And neither can be the other. One changes, the other does not.

“Something” (it has no qualities or attributes, which is why I put the word in quotes) is ever-present and aware of whatever is presently being perceived (which does have qualities and attributes). And you are already THAT (It doesn’t matter what we call it.) You cannot get what you already are. Period. All you can do is realize it until there are no more doubts… or not, in which case the seeking continues… (and that’s fine too, as it doesn’t change what you already are!).

Part of awakening is understanding that most of the people around you… family, friends, co-workers, school mates, etc. are not interested in Self-realization. For them, food, sex, money, entertainment, parties, good times, career achievements, finding their significant other, material objects and the pursuit there of, etc. is what life is all about.

Good for them. But for those seeking freedom, God, Self-realization, etc., achieving worldly “success” doesn’t do it. For “hard core seekers,” Who/what am I? Who/what is God? And who/what is the world? are the questions that will not leave us alone until a fully satisfactory answer has been found.

For this, we cannot look outside us for the answers. We must turn within and begin to notice “something” (although it’s not a “thing”, an object, which is why it’s so elusive!) that before we did not notice. Something that is ever-present, yet never speaks. Something that is everywhere, yet never draws attention to itself. It is looking out your eyes every second of the body’s existence, yet amazingly we overlook it, as our attention is continuously drawn to objects.

The Consciousness that is aware of your dream state… is it a different Consciousness that is aware of your waking state?

In other words, is THAT which was aware of last night’s dream different or the same as that which is aware that you are reading these words now?

If, upon investigation, it is realized that the Consciousness that was aware of last night’s dream is the same Consciousness that is aware of this moment, then neither the dream nor what is appearing now is your true nature, as both come and go. (When you are in the dream world, where is the waking state? When you are in the waking state, where is the dream world?)

Has what you are (and note we are not defining what you are, only THAT you are) ever changed? Body changes, thoughts change, feelings change, circumstances change, people change, moods change, experiences change, but has that which has witnessed every second of time, has that ever changed?

Yes or No?

The freedom is in how definitive your answer is. If there is still doubt, keep silently observing to see if what you inherently are ever changes. Because if it doesn’t, then nothing you experience can ever harm you. Why? Because if you are changeless, then nothing has the ability to change you (unless you believe it does… and even then it is only a belief, and not a fact that you’ve changed. Yes, the body can be harmed, but are you the body or what is changelessly aware of it?)

Note that you can spend days or even weeks or more on this question. “Do I change or don’t I?” Take as much time as you need, as your answer determines how you experience life. The important thing is to have all doubts removed and be 100% clear on whichever is your honest answer.

All you’ve ever wanted is this moment, as it is. But the moment always seems to have something wrong with it. What to do? See that you are not in the moment. You are what is aware of the moment. You are the Knower of the known. You are the Ultimate Subject to which all objects are known.

The attempt to escape now is what every jiva is doing via distraction. Distraction from what? Death. Insentient body is on its way out. Jiva/ego doesn’t want to deal with this, so perpetually distracts under illusion of creating “my” life, getting, achieving, having, owning, possessing, etc.

Freedom is recognizing this. Noticing how you are incessantly distracting yourself from being present, unbrokenly. Life is now, so you are now. Life is never not now, so you are never not now, regardless of what comes or goes.

Fulfillment of desires does not bring abiding peace. Fulfillment of a desire leads to more desires. It’s endless. Clearly seeing this, at first, may bring fear… “Well, if my desires cannot lead to abiding peace, what to do??”

Realize that ABIDING PEACE ISN’T A DOING AT ALL. It’s noticing that where you are seeing from is already peace itself. Thus, no thought or action can take you to abiding peace, but in fact takes you away from it because the very movement of seeking is an indication that you don’t already possess what you are looking for.

After all, if you have your keys on you, you are not going to start searching for them. But what if you forgot you have them in your pocket? Then you will start to search high and low for them until somebody comes along and says, “What is that in your pocket?” And you say, “Why yes, those are my keys!” And they say, “Have they not been with you all along?”